Rafe felt watched.
Not by the Seer.Not by the townspeople.Not even by the Primordial pulsing faintly beneath his ribs.
Something else.
A pressure he couldn't name pressed against the edges of his aura, distant but aware — as if the world itself had turned its head toward him.
They needed to leave.
Now.
Selene moved fast, her expression sharp and cold, dragging her cloak tight around her frame as they crossed the inn lobby. Mara followed with her usual scowl, ready for a fight. Lyn clung to Rafe's sleeve, still shaken by the Seer's words.
Rafe walked last.
He didn't trust the silence.
The moment they stepped outside, he scanned the rooftops, the alleys, the morning crowd. The Seer was nowhere in sight.
But he knew she was close.
Selene didn't waste time.
"We head north," she said. "Through the forest edge and onto the stone road. If we move fast, we can reach the river crossing before noon."
Mara groaned."Running again?"
"Running is surviving," Selene snapped.
Rafe felt Lyn tighten her grip.
He didn't reassure her.He couldn't.
Not when the third layer inside him pulsed like a heartbeat that wasn't his own.
They passed the edge of town. The air changed instantly — cleaner, colder, sharper. Trees rustled with morning wind.
For a moment, Rafe thought they might actually get away clean.
Then a voice spoke from behind them.
"You walk too loudly for people who want to disappear."
Rafe spun.
The Seer stood on the road, hands in her pockets, cloak fluttering behind her. She looked like she'd been waiting for them.
Mara groaned."Oh, COME ON—"
Selene moved forward, blocking the girl from getting closer.
"We don't need interference."
"You need warning," the Seer replied.
Selene's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
The Seer pointed at Rafe.
"His presence shifted again. Stronger. The echo he caused last night didn't stop — it spread."
Rafe's pulse stumbled.
"What does that mean?"
"It means," the Seer said calmly, "the Commission can track you easier than before. They'll triangulate the disturbance soon."
Mara stepped between them aggressively."And you know all this HOW?"
The Seer didn't blink.
"Because I felt it. I dream-walked through a part of the echo before it vanished."
Selene stiffened.
"You went into his dream?"
"No," the Seer replied, "he went into mine. I just wasn't rude enough to scream about it."
Rafe's cheeks warmed."I didn't mean to—"
"I don't care," she cut in. "Just don't do it again."
She walked closer, her eyes locked on him.
"You don't control your aura. It spills everywhere. People feel it without knowing what they're feeling. That's why everyone in town stared."
Rafe swallowed hard.
Lyn looked up at him, worried.
Mara glared at the Seer like she wanted to bite her.
Selene exhaled slowly.
"What do you suggest?"
The Seer didn't hesitate.
"He needs a limiter."
Rafe blinked."A what?"
"A temporary seal. Something to compress the noise so it stops bleeding into the surroundings."
Selene's expression darkened.
"That kind of seal is unstable."
The Seer shrugged."So is he."
Rafe didn't argue.He couldn't.He felt the truth in her words — he was unstable, shaken, incomplete. Something inside him kept leaking, slipping through his control.
He hated it.
"What kind of seal?" Rafe asked.
The Seer turned her back to him and started walking north.
"Follow me and I'll show you."
Selene immediately grabbed Rafe's shoulder.
"No. We don't trust her."
The Seer didn't stop walking.
"You don't have to trust me. But if he keeps glowing like a beacon, you won't reach the Academy alive."
Rafe glanced at Selene.
She saw the determination in his eyes — the need for control, the fear of what hunted him.
And she sighed.
"Fine. But if she does anything suspicious—"
"I'll break her teeth," Mara finished.
The Seer smirked without looking back.
"You can try."
Rafe followed her.
Every instinct screamed caution.
But every step felt like movement toward something he needed — something that could finally make the world stop staring at him like he was a weapon waiting to explode.
The Seer led them into a thin clearing between the trees. Sunlight filtered through the branches, casting long shadows across the ground.
She stopped.
"Stand there," she said, pointing at a patch of grass.
Rafe obeyed.
The girl lifted her hand.Her eyes glowed faint gold.
Selene tensed.
Mara stepped forward.
Lyn held her breath.
The Seer whispered something Rafe didn't understand — a soft phrase that felt like it skipped the ears and went straight into the soul.
The air rippled.
Something pulled at him.
A tightening in his chest.A pressure around his aura.Like invisible hands trying to wrap a cloth around a flame.
Then—
A sharp crack.
Not outside.
Inside.
Rafe gasped.
The third layer inside him shuddered.
And for the first time…
It answered.
Something ancient flickered behind his ribs — cold, deep, awake.
The Seer's eyes widened.
"Oh," she whispered."That's not supposed to happen."
Rafe staggered forward.
The air around him vibrated.
Selene shouted his name.
Mara grabbed his arm.
Lyn wrapped her arms around his waist.
The Seer stepped back, panic flashing in her eyes.
"You didn't tell me it was alive!"
And then—
Rafe's aura exploded outward.
Light.Shadow.And something older than both.
The trees bent.The ground cracked.The sky flickered.
The seal didn't hold.
The world felt him.
And far, far away…
Something else felt him too.
His body collapsed.
The last thing he heard was the Seer's trembling voice:
"…the Director felt that."